Mowlavi Abdolhamid's Protest Against the Ban on Sunni Clerics Traveling to Sunni Areas

The Sunni Friday prayer leader of Zahedan called the prohibition on Sunni clerics traveling to Sunni regions "contrary to the law" and demanded the "abolition" of these actions by security institutions. According to the Sunni Online website, Mowlavi Abdolhamid stated in his Friday sermon on April 14 that the Constitution does not grant any authority the right to prevent an individual from traveling from one province to another. He emphasized that "narrow-mindedness should not exist in the country" and that institutions and organizations should "broaden their thinking." According to the website of Mowlavi Abdolhamid, this prominent Sunni cleric has long been prohibited from traveling to other provinces of the country except Tehran. The report also noted that in recent days, Mowlavi Abdolhamid was prevented from traveling to Qatar. Previously, this prominent Sunni cleric was also barred from attending two funerals in Khaf and Taybad, as well as from traveling to the "Ramshak" area in Kerman province. Mowlavi Abdolhamid, the most recognized Sunni figure in Iran, had previously reported in December of last year that he faced restrictions on traveling to most provinces in Iran. Hassan Amini, the director of the Imam Bukhari Religious School in Sanandaj, also reported about two weeks ago that the situation for Sunnis under Hassan Rouhani's government has "worsened" and that Sunni clerics are not allowed to travel to Sunni cities, with the Ministry of Intelligence preventing his travel to Zahedan. Amini also stated that in 2009, after giving a speech at the graduation ceremony of students at the Maki Mosque in Zahedan, he was detained for ten days, and since then, he has been prevented from traveling to Zahedan. Mowlana Gorgij, the Sunni Friday prayer leader of the Baluch Free City in Golestan province, is another prominent Sunni cleric who was prevented by the Ministry of Intelligence from traveling to Zahedan and attending the graduation ceremony of students at the Maki Mosque on April 12. The existence of these restrictions comes while the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, in an unprecedented move in September 2017, responded to a critical letter from Mowlavi Abdolhamid regarding "discrimination" against Sunnis, stating that the institutions of the Islamic Republic are obliged "according to the Constitution" not to discriminate against Iranians. Meanwhile, Ali Younesi, an advisor to Hassan Rouhani on ethnic and religious minorities, on Tuesday, April 7, called for "positive discrimination" for the presence of "ethnic minorities" and Sunnis in government positions, stating that the exclusion of minorities from positions and social status is contrary to "national security and cohesion." However, Jalil Rahimi Jahangir, the head of the Sunni faction in Parliament, recently stated that Hassan Rouhani is "delaying" the implementation of his promises to appoint Sunni managers. After Hassan Rouhani's victory, the faction of Sunni representatives in Parliament asked him to ensure that "among the proposed ministers of the twelfth government, the elite of the Sunni community should also have a prominent presence," but ultimately no Sunni minister was introduced. Following that, Hasel Daseh, a Kurdish political activist and former parliament member, stated without naming names that "some Shia religious authorities in contact with Hassan Rouhani and some reformist leaders requested that no Sunni minister be introduced." The appointment of a Sunni governor for provinces with a Sunni majority was also among the demands from Rouhani's government, but this request was ignored. In Rouhani's first government, Emad Hosseini, a Sunni representative from the eighth parliament, was appointed as Deputy Minister of Oil, and Saleh Adibi was appointed as the first Kurdish Sunni ambassador to Vietnam and Cambodia. In Rouhani's second government, Soleiman Pak Sarisht, a Kurdish Sunni from Iran, was appointed as the head of the Technical and Vocational Organization of the country. In addition to Sunnis, followers of Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian religions in Iran, recognized as three religious minorities in the Constitution, are also deprived of high-ranking government positions, and the status of Spenta Niknam, a Zoroastrian member of the Yazd City Council who has been suspended by the Administrative Justice Court, remains unclear. Baha'is, another religious minority group in Iran, are even deprived of rights such as education at universities and holding government jobs.